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Sunday, May 29, 2005

Memorial Day weekend in Toronto keeps going and going and goingNot as energizing as my b-day, but it's nice to spend holidays with friends in somewhat exotic places. The drive on Friday thru Niagara-on-the-Lake saw orchards and vineyards in full bloom. We're staying with Indian friends and have eaten too well, but Saturday, I at least trekked into Douglas Park to hide a NaviCache. This morning, I walked about 2 miles; but honestly, it was to Tim Horton's for an extra large double-double. This afternoon, our host joined me for his first baseball game (while the girls went shopping). While I've never seen a live cricket match, I know the rules enough to explain the BlueJays beating the Twins. BTW, you can pay as much as US$225 for a seat at Toronto's SkyDome, but we enjoyed the aerial view of home plate from the $9 section. No nosebleeds ;^)

We drive back tomorrow with a stop at Niagara Parks: Butterfly Conservatory, Greenhouse, etc.

"Star Wars 3, Revenge of the Sith", on DLPThe current and final episode is playing at 14 theaters in the Rochester, NY area and 10 minutes from my house is the Tinseltown venue. There, the epic is scheduled thruout the day on 5 different screens, including one DLP (digital projection).

After 30 years of evolving technology in cinema, this Star Wars finale has the best battle sequences, tho viewers should note in the first scene that parachutes won't work in space. Add the multi-hued sunset images. And the pulsing glow of a volcanic planet. Get buzzed: it's Star Wars with the same, old theme and there's popcorn ;^)

Your 15 minutes of fame are almost upAn 11-year-old, almost local to Rochester, NY, pitched a perfect (hitless) baseball game last Saturday.

"... officials said they can't remember anybody ever throwing a perfect game in this western New York league between Buffalo and Rochester."

Let's set the record straighter than MSN/Fox Sports. This is not a league or skill level between major cities like Rochester and Buffalo, NY. These are 11-year-olds playing Little League baseball in extremely small towns located between Rochester and Buffalo. Oakfield and Alabama, NY are so small, they must combine their school districts (and Little League baseball teams) into one central effort. Little League baseball is for children first learning the game. The normal rules are eased to make the game more enjoyable for the little ones. In these times of equality, Little League is co-ed (open to boys and girls), so there should be no discriminating references to gender. If there's a majority gender, it's purely a matter of who wants to play the game. One amended rule is that every child gets to play regardless of skill. It's not competition about which team wins or loses, it's about each individual's self image and development. So while there's no "I" in "TEAM", there is a "ME".

If you believe the Middle East conflicts are ultimately about the oil...you can avoid the purchase of those regional oil products. Hess, Sinclair, and Sunoco oil companies have their exploration and production activities taking place primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Algeria, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Brazil and Colombia. Granted there are problems in these locations as well, but at least we have choices.

Big trouble comes in little packagesNo, I'm not talking about the petite college girl next door ;^)

I'm talking about skeeters, right here in Monroe County (Rochester, NY area). Tho we've only had a handful of days over 70&degF, County health officials have already found a dead crow infected with deadly Nile Virus transmitted by mosquitoes.

And then there's the pernicious Old World woodwasp (Sirex noctilio Fabricius) discovered for the first time in the U.S., near our State capital, Albany. The bitch injects toxic mucus and spores into the sapwood of pines and conifers. It has ruined up to 80% of those trees in areas of New Zealand, Australia, South America, and South Africa. Sell your Christmas trees while you can ;^(

The End of Civilization is approachingThank Dog, New York State has politicians to protect us from ourselves. These are the same hacks who can't agree on a State Budget, but by a 60-0 consensus, the Senate has passed bill S2822 to the Assembly. This measure would "prohibit online hunting games". At first, an online game seems trivial compared to the legislation of crime, education, etc. But when you look at the definition of the games, you'll hopefully recognize that the average citizen has lost touch with their neighbor, that you and I have failed at moderating a sense of reason amongst others. In the "games", one clicks a mouse to trigger the firing of live ammunition at a distant Texas shooting range where the targets are live animals.

And before you get started, I'm not anti-hunting. But I do subscribe to the principle of the late Johnny "The Wad" Holmes: "eat what you shoot".

then my sensitive side imagined Michael Jackson as a deeper-voiced old man with skin re-darkened by liver spots as he sings the words: "...why's everybody always pickin' on me?" Where's our compassion?

And is the pic really good for US military image? Is there a real difference from the recently staged photo of an Iraqi prisoner wearing a dog leash? Can the kids even read the sign in their hands or are they the pawns of an opportunistic GI Joe? Have the children been tainted with the thumbs-up found offensive in other cultures?

So maybe the pic is funny and sad. Some would say that's "confused". Michael Jackson is confused. The Iraqis and Americans are confused. Vision and answers are required which is why I often check out Strong Bad, especially the SB emails (when they work)

Have you hugged a tree today?I received my certificate for 1400 kWh of wind power that I purchased in 2004 for the total electrical consumption in my home. Amongst participants in the "Catch the Wind" program, over 17 million kWh were subscribed to offset emissions from powerplants contributing to acid rain, smog, and global warming. The carbon dioxide reduction is equivalent to planting 1.05 million trees and not driving 16.8 million miles.

In a less environmental mindset, I killed several ears of fresh corn-on-the-cob this weekend. The "Sugar and Cream" variety was smothered in zero-carb/cholesterol/trans fat Olivio. Remember the controversial CEO of Chrysler auto during the late 70s? I didn't think so: few of you remember anything from the 70s. Lee Iacocca was the guy taking $1 annual salary until Chrysler recovered. Now he donates all Olivio profits to diabetes research ($20 million since 1984).